Zach Rich
"So, is this the part where you try to smash my face in, or do I have to sit here and continue badmouthing you for another twenty minutes?" Zachary Joshua Rich is the avatar character of ThatZachGuy, and a main character in the ITWverse. Like most avatar characters, his looks and personality is based largely on his writer. Because of this, the character has aged a lot more than other characters, being 13 in his introduction. He is 19, as of If They Were Trying to Steal From Eclipse Island! In-Universe, Zach is the best friend and partner of Sky Folgon and Chef Wario, both of whom he had been traveling with ever since their meeting in the opening of If They Were Trying to Steal From Me, Again… Again. ''He currently lives with both of them in Station Square, as of ''If They Were Treasure Hunting on Eclipse Island. ''He plays the part of the Rouge amongst the ITW mains; witty and charismatic. He tends to be the one to laugh at the tense situations the others get themselves into. He generally fights with a set of knifes and daggers, relying more on his quick thinking and reflexes, as well as his allies, rather than rely on strength alone. Character History A Life Forgotten Everything leading up to his first meeting with Sky Folgon and Chef Wario is gone to him. Based on what he does know from people who claimed to know him before have mentioned that he grew up with a genius IQ and a passion for science that allowed him to create tonics and elixirs that gave the drinker special abilities. Zach initially brushed this off as moronic mumbo-jumbo, until it was indeed revealed to him that he could actually fly; a talent that weirds him out completely; he only uses it when completely necessary. Enjoying the life he has lived since meeting Sky and Wario, Zach has never bothered to learn about his past and childhood, instead choosing to focus on the events waiting ahead of him. Rebirth (The Estate Games) The first thing Zach Rich remembers is washing up on the shore of a lake not too far away from Los Angeles, with nothing more than the clothes on his back, and no memory of anything except his name. With no clear path, no idea who he is or where he came from, he tried making a beeline for the closest sign of civilization; the estate of KD Rio; unknown to him, a place he had been many times before. The very first people he came across; two complete strangers, down on their luck and looking for their fortune would become the most important people in his life. Zach chose to join these strangers in participating in a rather odd contest that the Estate’s owner was hosting; namely, to steal from him. Based on the first five minutes of working with the pair alone, the three quickly found an affinity for each other, and chose to work together for the rest of the game, first putting a focus on making themselves a formidable team for the rest of the game. The pair introduced themselves as Sky Folgon, a Yale drop-out with a lucky streak, and Chef Wario, a former restaurant owner whose chain was shut down by health inspectors. While training together, another figure, going by the name of Jumpman84, quickly ran up to Zach, and started going on about how much he missed him, and how great it is to see him alive, and so on, and so forth. When it became apparent to Jump that Zach had no idea who he was or what he was talking about, Jump quickly brought it on himself to try to job Zach’s memory about his past life. Zach grew quickly uninterested in this pursuit, which Jump eventually understood, but chose to befriend this new version of his friend as well. (Their friendship would be solidified when Zach rushed to his aid during the Master Emerald Hunt when SM challenged him to a fight.) Zach also met several members of the SM Crew for the first time during their training, and gained the attention of the Estate Residents as well, who also knew him from his past life. Zach, Sky, and Wario took to calling themselves Team WSZ when they reentered the estate a second time, attempting to find their treasure. They came across, and consequently fought against AP Zero, who seemed to have a beef against Zach, once again from his past life. Although the Pikachu Humanoid was clearly the stronger fighter, and had a strong upper hand in the fight, the trio managed to get a cheap victory when APZ was distracted by another figure entering the room with them. Zach and the others did not realize he was distracted though, so when they knocked APZ out, they chalked it up to their pure skill; which was the catalyst for solidifying the friendship between them. As the contest raged on, KD Rio had announced a new side game, concerning the legendary Chaos Emeralds. This caught the attention of two Government Agents, Ted Islander and Sarah Wohk (A girl who Jump claimed had a prior romantic engagement with Zach. Like him, she has no memory of this ever happening.), who arrived at the estate, and chose to team up with WSZ, posing as simple adventurers. Their combined failure to obtain a single Emerald caused their alliance to waiver, so much so that when after Derek had gained control of all seven emeralds, and shattered the Master Emerald, the two groups started working against each other to obtain the Master Emerald shards. Zach managed to obtain a piece in the struggle, assisted by Sky and Wario, which drove the hotheaded Sarah to challenge him to a one on one fight in KD’s Arena. When Zach actually managed to defeat her, she lost her head, and fought him again outside of Estate grounds, this time revealing her ability to sizeshift, and growing to five times her normal size. Although Zach managed to defeat her by himself again, the fight had left him broken and bloody, and in the mist of the chaos, he lost his Master Emerald Shard. Zach met up with Sky and Wario and escaped the Estate Games just before the Estate Incident took place with their lives, and chose to simply wander the country for a while. Brand New Day (Time Skip and Eclipse Island) The adventures Zach had with his best friends over the next six months solidified their friendship, and gave Zach the chance to remake his personality that he had previously lacked. While traveling throughout the US, Zach developed a large taste for Music, and would eventually begin to start picking up the Guitar and Piano, and starting to hone in a rather lovely baritone voice. Two Months before the events of Eclipse Island, Zach, Sky, and Wario found themselves in Las Vegas, a profitable oasis for a man of Sky’s luck. While making the rounds from casino to casino, and racking up jackpot after jackpot, the trio caught the attention of a major crime syndicate located within Sin City itself, and were offered jobs within the syndicate to be their major source of income after Sky beat out their head boss seven times in a row; Opting to back out of any shady deals and preferring to be left up to their own devices, they refused the offer. The syndicate did not take kindly to this, and captured them, ultimately to be killed simply for knowing of the existence of the syndicate itself. Their imprisonment was short lived, however, when Sarah and Ted showed up not soon after their capture. Fired from the Government, they were now freelancers working the odd-and-end job, and had been hired to kill all members of the Vegas Syndicate. Mistaken for a member of the syndicate, Sarah attacked Zach once again, however the fight was cut short when Ted arrived with Sky and Wario in tow, explaining the situation. Deeming them civilians, and having nothing to do with the mission, the mercs let the trio go, but Zach chose to stay with them and finish off the Syndicate personally, prompting Sky and Wario to do the same. In this Enemy Mine situation, the two groups agreed to work together from now on, even if trust between them was not yet all-together there. During their imprisonment, Sky discovered the passion he needed to get back to and finish school so he could fight corruption like the Syndicate, amongst others. Zach settled down with Sky and Wario in Station Square after Sky chose to return to his law studies; finding that traveling without either of them wasn’t nearly as interesting or fun (Or doable; Sky’s gambling was their main source of income.), and instead shifting his focus to his fledgling talents as a musician. Things were quiet for Zach for a few weeks until Wario burst in one fine day, ranting about a treasure hunt. Turning on the news, Zach caught wind of the Blue Wing’s reemergence over Eclipse Island, and quickly proclaimed his intent to get some of that newly found treasure. Sarah and Ted quickly showed up at their flat afterwards to enlist their help, supplying a teleporter device to get the Quintet to and from the Island. Wario had also brought in with him Link, whom Zach had known in his past life, and re-met during the Estate Games; Link, having been on his own travels since the Estate Incident, approached Zach for help in recovering the 'HYPER DEATH RAY, stolen from the Estate by the Blue Wings, which he quickly agreed too. Also accompanying Wario was Travis Touchdown, a mercenary who seemingly chose to invite himself into Zach’s flat; no one really wanted a fight, so they chose to let him pal around and eat all their food for a while. A short time into the event, Zach was distracted by a sound outside in flat. When he went outside he came face to face with the TARDIS, and had a rather awkward first encounter with The Doctor, who claimed to know so much about him, that meeting him is a dream come true and that he’s destined to do great things. The Doctor convinced Zach to come along to Eclipse Island with him in his TARDIS, fascinated with this new character. They were greeted on the Island by none other than Derek Barona, himself, who declared that this would be the place they would die. However, before the curb-stomp could happen, a distraction ruined Derek’s mood, and sent Zach and The Doctor back to Station Square, but captured The Doctor’s TARDIS. Zach promised to help The Doctor gain back the TARDIS, and managed to convince the other members of his alliance to do so, even though they had just met the man, and really questioned his sanity. When several prominent members of other groups started gathering together on the Island in an effort to raid the Blue Wing’s Airship Base, The Ryaga for KD Rio’s stolen weapon, the ''HYPER DEATH RAY'', the group saw it as an opportunity to board the ship themselves, and reclaim the TARDIS. Acting as a support to the other members of the party, Zach, Sky, Wario, and Ted arrived on the Island, and participated in the raid, plucking off Pantheon Drones with the main party, before breaking off from the main group and securing some nearby sniper towers, in order to provide cover for everyone else en route to the Ryaga, including The Doctor, himself. Lucca Barona, Derek’s little sister, arrived to put an end to that plan, and succeeded, taking advantage of their hesitance to fight a young girl, three-on-one. She managed to quickly incapacitate and knock out all three of them. Before sending them home, she pulled a gun out on Sky, and shot him in the shoulder, but from Zach’s point-of-view, it looked like a fatal headshot. The aftermath of his fight with Lucca sent Zach into an absolute rage, declaring the fight against the Blue Wings personal, and boasting over the phone to Shina Gado that he was going to do everything he could to blow the Mercenary Team out of the sky. When he mellowed out and realized that what he really wanted to do was take Wario and Sky and run, Wario reminded him that he made a commitment to help his friend, The Doctor, and that they needed to still fight. Although hesitant, Zach agreed that it was the right thing to do, and chose to continue in helping The Doctor, choosing to leave his personal vendetta with the Blue Wings themselves on the backburner, at least until he gets a chance to confront Lucca again. Personality and Appearance Zach has a very charismatic and easy-going nature to himself. In most situations, he prefers to sit down and try to talk things out, rather than have to get physical. The only time he really doesn’t know how to talk to someone is when he’s crushing on a girl, and crushing hard, something he works with Sky to try to fix. He’s a self-proclaimed jokester, and his snarky, deadpan humor can be found in the tensest of situations. He is not afraid to call out the others when they have royally messed up, even those with enough resources and weapons to dismantle every atom in his body. He is fiercely loyal to his friends, but is not quick to trust people, unless he sees the extraordinary in them. Zach is 19 years old, with a rather decent build. He is 5’8, with curly brown hair, and blue-green eyes. His skin is moderately tan, and typically gets darker in hot weather. His attire is typical young adult faire; skinny jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and high-top Converses, amongst other things; He is most commonly wearing blue. He’s developed a fascination with vests as well, and is known to steal a few of Sky’s from time to time, much to his chagrin. Affiliations Friends - [[Sky Folgon|'''Sky Folgon]]: Zach’s best friend; they met at the front gates of the Estate at the onset of The Estate Games, and have been traveling together ever since. They now live together in Station Square. Zach and Sky complement each other perfectly in terms of personality, both very clever, and both very smart. Sky has taken Zach under his wing as a lady-killing protégé. It is his job to make sure that his young friend gets laid sometime soon. - Chef Wario: Zach’s other companion, who he met along with Sky at the beginning of The Estate Games. Although he is usually gruff and cynical to everyone he meets, Wario has a close bond with Zach, offering him advice when he needs it, and quickly coming to his defense when he needs it. - Ted Islander: An enemy-turned-friend, Ted teamed up with Zach at the outset of The Estate Games, but turned on him as soon as it was revealed that they were working for the Government, and needed to obtain the Master Emerald shards for themselves. Four months later, events in Las Vegas led to them working together again, under much different conditions, and the two became friends, for real this time. Ted arrived at Zach’s Apartment with a teleporter to get to Eclipse Island, and has been working with Zach throughout that entire event. - Sarah Wohk: Zach’s rival, who he met during The Estate Games, though it’s been implied that they’ve known each other long before them, though neither of them remember. Sarah and Zach started off as major enemies, fighting each other twice over the course of the Estate Games. Zach won both times, but the second time, he barely made it out with his life. They fought again when they ran into each other in Las Vegas, though the situation caused for them to stop fighting and team up against a common enemy, which caused the beginning of an uneasy alliance between them. She showed up alongside Ted at his apartment during Eclipse Island, where they chose to try to bury the hatchet between them. This seems to be working, as Sarah and Zach briefly started to confide in each other over a game of Teetherball (Which, for once, had Sarah triumphing over Zach.) Although there is still a rivalry between them, this one seems to be becoming more and more like a sibling rivalry, than anything else. - [[Jumpman84 (character)|'Jumpman84']]: A friend from Zach’s past that quickly greets him during If They Were Trying To Steal From Me Again… Again! And tries in vain to get Zach’s old memories back into place. Although he is unsuccessful, and Zach ultimately loses interest, he develops a new friendship with him, and comes to his aid when SM picks a fight with him over control of his Master Emerald Shard. He is unaware that Jump died during the Time Skip. - Shina Gado: 'A friend from Zach’s past, who also re-befriends him during ''If They Were Trying To Steal From Me Again… Again! Zach makes a promise to assist her and her fiancée, KD Rio during If They Were Trying to Steal From Eclipse Island, although she tries to dissuade him from doing so. - [[Travis Touchdown|'''Travis Touchdown]]: Shows up at Zach’s Apartment at the beginning of Eclipse Island, and crashes there for the entire first act. It’s not that Zach doesn’t mind that he’s there, but all he’s been doing is sitting around eating their food… - The Doctor: A Time Lord from the Planet Gallfery. Parks his TARDIS at Zach’s doorstep during Eclipse Island, and greets Zach as if he was a legendary historical figure. Zach chooses to help him out after his TARDIS is captured by the Blue Wings. Acquanintances - [[KD Rio|'KD Rio']] - [[Link|'Link']] - Marth (KD) - [[SM|'SM']] - Team SSBM n [[Roy|'Roy']] n [[Samus Aran|'Samus']] n [[Fox McCloud|'Fox']] - Members of the SSBA Rouges Gallery - AP Zero: Accidently gets into a fight with him during The Estate Games, alongside Sky and Wario (Their first fight together as WSZ.). They win it after APZ is distracted by a stranger. Whenever Zach, Sky, and Wario need to talk about how awesome they are, they mention that one time where they fought AP Zero, and won. - The Blue Wings: Zach is largely indifferent to most of the members by themselves, but is willing to do anything to stop their plans on Eclipse Island. He fights in the first Ryaga Raid in Eclipse Island. n Lucca Barona: Gets into a fight with her, alongside Sky and Wario, during the first Ryaga Raid in Eclipse Island. He is hesitant to fight her, and shows mercy when his first few attacks appeared to have wounded her badly. However, it’s revealed that she is crying wolf, and quickly takes him out. She becomes number one on his list of people he loathes when she pulls a gun on Sky and shoots him in the Shoulder, and now carries a personal vendetta against her, hoping that he gets a chance to confront her again before ''Eclipse Island '' is over, this time without any sign of mercy. Category:Characters Category:Avatar Characters